


Curtain Call

by cherrycoloredphoenix



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Theatre, Dad Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Dad Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, F/F, Gen, Jesse McCree & Genji Shimada Are Best Friends, M/M, McHanzo - Freeform, Overwatch AU, Overwatch Theatre AU, Reaper76 - Freeform, Symmbra, anahardt, emilena, maybe more as I decide, most ships are background ships, there are ships but they're largely background like this isn't focused on them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-10-25 09:53:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10761822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrycoloredphoenix/pseuds/cherrycoloredphoenix
Summary: The Overwatch Devising Theatre Company has had a good run, but it's starting to lose money and the interest of its patrons. The directors decide that they are not going to let the theatre die out, and so they make a decision to put out a call for fresh new company members who will give them an inspirational boost. New members join up, and everyone gets to figure out how to work together and work through their personal problems as well.





	1. Setting the Scene

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever, so uhhhhh let's see how this goes. I love theatre and wanted to see a theatre AU for Overwatch, so here it is! Please enjoy :)

The sun beat down harshly outside - summer arrived early in this part of the world, and in the early afternoon, few people were out and about on the streets. Except for a pair of middle-aged men walking down the street, laden with shopping bags and groceries and silently regretting their resolution to get the shopping down on a day like  _ this _ .

By the time they got to the truck, both were sweating heavily. At least the truck was parked in a shady place, and Jack turned the A/C to full blast the moment his husband started the engine.

“Can’t handle the heat?” Gabe teased, earning himself a gentle smack on the shoulder.

“You were complaining more than I was,” Jack accused, wiping his sweaty glasses on his equally sweaty shirt. There wasn’t much improvement.

“Who, me? Please.”

It was a short drive back to the theatre. Gabe pulled around to the back door, where Reinhardt was waiting with Ana by his side. The latter had a smoothie in hand and was sipping with profound smugness as she made eye contact with the men. An empty smoothie cup sat next to Reinhardt.

“Didn’t save us any?” Gabe asked, climbing out and opening the trunk.

“Didn’t know when you’d be back,” Ana said airily, waggling the cup at him tauntingly. Her eyes flicked to the other man. “Jack, I think you have a sunburn.”

Everyone looked to Jack. Gabe’s eyebrows rose. Reinhardt chuckled in sympathy.

Jack stared back, then groaned. “Where?”

“Nose. And shoulders.” Gabe snorted. “I told you to wear sunscreen.”

“Shut up.” Jack made for the shade of the building. Ana patted his arm as he passed her.

“I’ll take over for you,” she called after him. “And there’s some cream that should help in the makeup room.”

He waved his thanks and vanished around the corner.

Between the three remaining members, they got the supplies out of the car and sorted into place. The thing that had given Jack and Gabe the most trouble was a stack of planks and wooden panels, haphazardly piled into the truck bed. Reinhardt, on the other hand, had no issue with it, hefting the lot into his arms and striding off, only needing some help opening the door.

Gabe took the grocery bags to the fridge in the lounge. Sombra was there, sprawled over the couch with her laptop. Her college got out a few days earlier than her brother’s, so she was already home.

He nudged her with an elbow as he passed. She barely looked up to stick her tongue out.

“What’re you looking at?” he asked while he put the food into the fridge. He slid open the freezer to try and cram pizza rolls in with everything else.

“Nothing. Just some videos.” Her fingers tapped over the keyboard. It did not sound like she was watching videos.

“Sure about that?” He grabbed a few sodas from the last pack they’d bought before closing the fridge door.

“Sure.” She continued tapping, uncaring.

He handed her a soda on the way out.

 

Ana rubbed her temples and stared at the budget sheet in front of her. Jack and Reinhardt were sitting with her, Jack looking slightly distressed, Reinhardt looking  _ very _ distressed. The man’s face was an open book, honestly.

Jack had a copy of the budget as well. His forehead creased more the farther he went down the page.

“Can someone get Gabe in here?” Ana asked after a moment of strained silence.

Jack stuck his head out of the door and was preparing to yell when he spotted him coming down the hallway.

“What’s up?” Gabe asked, shutting the door securely. He passed sodas out to them, saving one for himself.

Ana pushed the papers across to him and Jack, accepting the icy drink he handed her. “You guys are the directors,” she said tiredly. “I think you should see this.”

Gabe scanned the sheet briefly, then sighed. There was more silence. Reinhardt downed half the contents of his can in one swallow. Gabe bit his lip, thinking.

“Right.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re losing money still. Things aren’t really working, and everyone’s tired.”

There were gloomy nods as he spoke. He slammed a hand on the table, and everyone jumped. His soda can wobbled.

“So,” he said briskly, “We’ll just need to figure out how to pull the crowds in again. If it worked before, it’ll work again, right?”

Jack rubbed his face, pushing his glasses off of his nose, and winced when he touched his sunburn. “We’ve tried. Nothing has worked.”

“Giving up is not an option,” Gabe snapped at him.

“I never said anything about giving up!” Jack put his hands palms down on the desk. “Look, I agree that we need to keep trying, but let’s face it, it might not work no matter  _ how _ hard we try. We’re an older company, and with these kinds of theatres, once we start going downhill it’s hard to stop.”

Ana looked reluctant to agree, but she nodded. “We saw it happen before,” she pointed out. “With that other one we were at years ago. Just shut down overnight.”

Reinhardt sighed heavily. “It was a tragedy. But we must not allow this one to suffer the same fate!”

Gabe was staring at the numbers again, a furrow between his eyebrows. “We need more new blood,” he said suddenly. “No offense to you guys, but we’ve been in this business for a long time, and the people are used to seeing us. They’re used to seeing the same kinds of thing from us, and they’re bored. We need young people who can give us new insight.” He looked up. “Wouldn’t you agree? We need to branch out a little.”

Jack frowned. “We can’t  _ afford _ to branch out right now.”

“I think we can. We’ve got a dark week now that the last production’s over,” Gabe said, looking between his companions. “We can spend it in advertising for positions, getting some new people in here. We need to get different perspectives, make our shows  _ better _ .”

“The shows are excellent,” Reinhardt protested.

“Yeah,” Gabe said, grinning. “They’re pretty good. I mean,  _ I  _ directed them.” He paused. “And Jack too, I guess.”

Jack snorted.

“And your  _ lovely _ stage manager,” Ana put in with a wide smile. Gabe nodded emphatically.

“Of course. But  _ we  _ only have our brains to think of new shows, and after years of service to this town, I think they want some new stuff. Some things that it’ll be better to have younger people think up.” He spread his arms. “We need new creative visions.” He glanced down at the budget. “Visions that aren’t too expensive, that is.”

The others were thoughtful.

“Yes,” Ana said after a moment of contemplation. “I think you’re right.”

“Me too,” Jack added.

Reinhardt’s voice boomed in the small room. “It is an excellent plan!”

“Great,” Gabe said. “I’ll ask Sombra to design some ads for us, then. Is Torbjorn still out?” He looked at Reinhardt.

“His daughter is getting better quickly,” the giant man replied. “He said that he would be back tomorrow, if she stays well.”

Gabe nodded, turning to his husband. “Jack, we still gotta unweight the flies. We should get on that.”

“Wait a few days and let Fareeha come home and help,” Ana chided, rising from her seat.

“We’re not that old, Ana,” Jack protested, standing as well.

“You have a sunburn,” she continued.

“Oh, come on, it doesn’t affect my muscles at all.”

“I’ll say,” Gabe said, giving his upper arm an appreciative squeeze. Ana snickered, and Jack flushed.

“Well, anyways, we should get to work,” Jack said, coughing to hide his red face. He dragged Gabe after him towards the stage, barely giving the latter enough time to grab his can of soda before being towed away.

“I shall clean the scene storage,” Reinhardt told Ana as they exited together. “Since Torbjorn has been absent, it is sadly disorganized.”

“You do that,” she said warmly, patting his arm. “I’ll go send out some company emails. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

Alone in her office, Ana sipped from a thermos of tea and set to work. If they were going to get new employees, she’d need to make sure of who out of the old company could stay on for the next production session.

 

Jesse Mccree arrived at the airport two days later, a new friend in tow and his cowboy hat still securely on his head after another year of college. Genji was a year behind Jesse, but they’d been fast friends, and he’d been excited to come when Jesse invited him to his hometown for the summer. On this occasion he was wearing an orange letter jacket that, combined with his green hair, served to make him look like a smiling carrot.

Fareeha and her mother were there to meet him with hugs and warm welcomes. Fareeha had arrived the day before, she told him, and it was great to see him again. She finished her greeting by flicking the brim of his cowboy hat.

“I can’t believe you still have this.”

“Missed you too, Fa,” he replied with a tight hug. “Oh, and this here is Genji. Genji Shimada. He’s here for the summer.” He pulled away and gestured to the green-haired man standing next to him, waiting politely to be introduced.

Genji beamed when they looked at him, dropping the handle to his suitcase. “Yo! Jesse’s told me a lot about you guys.” He stuck his hand out, and the women obliged him willingly. Ana’s sharp eyes took in his appearance, and nodded to Jesse approvingly.

“I was worried you’d be making all sorts of unsavory friends at school,” she said to him in an undertone with a chuckle, while Genji made Fareeha’s acquaintance. Jesse gave a mock scowl, but smiled.

“Naw, Genji’s a good guy.”

“I see.” Ana turned back to her daughter. “Fareeha, what are you doing?”

The two seemed to have engaged in a silent battle of “who can squeeze the other’s hand the hardest.” Judging from Genji’s pained face, Fareeha was winning. At her mother’s rebuke, she released Genji immediately, looking sheepish.

“You’re  _ strong _ !” Genji gasped, shaking his rapidly reddening hand. “I swear your grip is stronger than my brother’s!” He grinned widely. “I like you.”

“Glad to hear it,” Fareeha replied, smiling in return before spinning to look at Jesse. “Uh, Jesse, Gabe’s waiting at the entrance. He said he didn’t feel like walking all the way down here.”

Jesse laughed while Ana rolled her eyes. “All right. Let’s go, then.”

The little group made their way to the entrance. True to his word, Gabe was waiting, reclining in an uncomfortable-looking airport seat. He rose as they approached.

“Gabe!” Jesse wrapped his adopted father in a hug. “Where’s Jack?”

“Helping Winston deep-clean the projection booth, probably.” Gabe looked at Genji when they broke apart. “Genji Shimada, was it?” He held out a hand.

“That’s me,” Genji said, tone respectful despite the cheerful words, taking the proffered hand. “I hear you’re the technical director for the theatre you guys work at.” He looked over at Ana when he said it.

“That’s right.” Gabe looked at Jesse. “You told him about that?”

“He likes theatre,” Jesse explained. “Thought he could be some help backstage ‘n’ whatnot. He’s got experience.”

“Stage crew in uni, and some acting stuff,” Genji helped.

Gabe gave him a critical look, then shrugged. “We’ll see when we’re back. We should get going though.” He led the way back to the car.

Jesse and Fareeha exchanged a grin.

 

Genji got accepted into the company soon after his introduction and an impromptu interview.. Jack liked his vivacity and energy. Ana thought he would be a good fit with the rest of the team. Gabe said little, but admitted that he certainly had potential. It was decided that for now he’d help out backstage, but once they got started devising the next performance, Genji could audition if he wanted to.

Genji would be spending the summer in a nice little motel that was closer to the theatre than Jesse’s own house - or technically, Gabe’s and Jack’s house. However, Gabe invited him home anyways to have dinner. Later, Genji confided to Jesse that he’d never felt so welcomed into a home. It was a nice feeling.

Dinner was a lively affair, now that the kids were both back from college, not to mention that Genji was immediately at ease and got along well enough with Sombra as well.

“What happened to your nose?” Jesse asked Jack as soon as he saw him come downstairs.

The older man glowered at him. “Sunburn.”

“This happens every year,” Jesse pointed out. “I’d think that you’d learn from the past twenty years.”

“Shut it,” Jack snapped, but he smiled fondly.

Afterwards, Jesse and Genji sat on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV and exchanging jabs about each other’s TV habits. Sombra, curled up in armchair with a DS, occasionally told them to shut it. They ignored her.

Once they settled on a neutral channel - some late night comedy thing - they fell to talking about the skit instead. Sombra gave up shushing them, instead raising the volume on her game to maximum, but in the end, even she joined the conversation about the show.

They were in the middle of a heated discussion criticizing the tastefulness of a particular joke when Jack came downstairs, yawning. He nodded to Genji.

“Isn’t it time for you to be headed off?” he asked. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want you driving too late, Jesse.”

They all looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight.

“Ah, yes,” Genji said, standing up and stretching. “I should go. Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Morrison.”

“Call me Jack,” Jack said, waving the formalities aside. “You’re always welcome. Sombra, Jesse, that means you too as well.”

“We’re adults, technically,” Sombra pointed out, draped over the arms of the armchair with her legs in the air. “You can’t tell us what to do.” She curved her fingers in a wave after Genji.

Jack just sighed.

Jesse drove Genji to the motel, since the other man didn’t have a rental car yet. Genji paused on the way out of the door.

“Your family is very nice,” he said, voice pensive. “Thank you for inviting me here over the summer.”

“No problem,” Jesse said easily, tipping his hat. “They liked you, y’know.” He gave an encouraging smile. He knew Genji had some issues with his own family currently, so it was good to know that he liked Jesse’s.

“That’s good to know,” Genji said, smiling back. “Well, good night, Jesse.”

“‘Night, Genji. You need anything, text me.”

“Will do.”

While turning in the lot to drive away, Jesse was suddenly struck by the silhouette of Genji entering the motel doors. The other man generally exuded an almost larger-than-life aura, but in the light of the motel, he looked smaller. Solitary.

Alone.

 

The lights were still on in Sombra’s room when Jesse got back. He poked his head into his sister’s room, curious.

“What’d you want, vaquero?” Sombra asked without looking up. She was sprawled on her bed with her laptop. Her DS was still open next to her.

Jesse tipped his hat, grinning. “It’s midnight.”

“I’m aware.”

“What’re you doin’?”

To his surprise, she turned her laptop to show him. Eye-catching colors spilled across the screen. She wasn’t a graphic designer for nothing. “Ads. For the theatre. The dads told you, right?”

Jesse could remember the look in Gabe’s eyes when he’d told him about the theatre’s situation. He rubbed his scruff and sighed. “Yeah. I heard about the plan about ‘new visions’ and all that, too.”

Sombra nodded and turned the laptop back to her. “It’s worth a shot.”

He leaned against the doorframe and watched her work for a moment. “What’d you think will happen if... y’know.”

She didn’t pause in her work, but a worried look passed over her face. Nevertheless, her voice was joking. “Some people will need new jobs, I guess.” She shrugged, feigning disinterest, but the look in her eyes belied that.

Jesse saw the look, and decided to leave her to her task. He pushed himself off of the door with a heavy sigh. “Good night, sis.”

“Night, Jess.”


	2. Bad News, Good News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to find myself a beta reader but for now nothing is beta-d, so be warned.

Fareeha Amari had spent the morning finishing up with the flies, with Jesse’s help. The new kid, Genji, had tagged along, and she’d been happy to oblige and teach him a little about the fly system in the process. As it turned out, he knew his way backstage somewhat, but had never worked with flies before. After the mandatory safety talk and a brief tour, she’d had him watch from the other side of the stage while she and Jesse reweighted all of the drops and flies. Normally there’d be a few more people to help, but it was a dark week, and most of the employees were off taking a well-earned break. Genji was happy to help take curtains and drops off of the rails while Jesse held the ropes.

After that was done, they crashed in the lounge. Jesse raided the fridge, and they helped themselves to snacks and soda.

Fareeha took the time to inquire a little more after Genji’s life. The green-haired man answered between inhaling chips, while Jesse attempted to take a nap on the couch with his hat over his face.

“You took _swordfighting_ classes?” Fareeha demanded, sitting up straighter. Jesse lifted his hat and opened an eye, interested. Genji nodded, arm elbow deep in a bag of extra-spicy Doritos.

“My father insisted,” he said with a half-laugh. “I still take lessons occasionally if I’m back home for any length of time, to keep me in practice.”

“You any good?” she persisted.

He shrugged humbly. “I guess. But -” He brightened. “You should see my brother. My father also had him take archery lessons, and he’s _really_ good. He’s also pretty good with a sword, but he dropped that a few years ago.”

“Holy shit,” Fareeha breathed. “I’ve always wanted to learn something like that - a more traditional kind of weapon, you know - but all we have around here is a shooting range.” She chuckled.

“Ana and Gabe used to take us there on weekends,” Jesse put in, having given up on napping. “Fareeha’s a good shot.”

Genji gave her an admiring look.

“Jesse’s better with a pistol,” she returned, nodding to her friend.

“Pshaw, I have more practice is all.”

“I should introduce you guys to my brother,” Genji said, nodding with conviction. “You’d get along very well.”

“What’s he like?” Fareeha asked.

Genji shrugged again. “Very dedicated to his studies. He’s at a different university. I haven’t really talked to him for any length of time lately.” He frowned. “I think he said he was going home for the summer.” Jesse glanced at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

Fareeha sensed a shift in the mood, and changed the subject. “We should get back to work. An hour or so of sorting stuff in the electric’s closet so Winston can find everything when he gets back, and then we can take the rest of the day off. How’s that sound?”

The men got up willingly, and after everyone had finished stuffing the last few snacks into their mouths and threw away the trash, they headed down to the room that held all the lighting and electrical equipment.

“Winston has an order he wants things in,” Fareeha said before opening the door. “And he’s pretty particular about it. So we’re just going to organize everything that’s clearly labeled and leave the rest alone. Got it?”

Jesse and Genji nodded obediently.

“Great.” She threw open the door, and Genji’s jaw dropped. The floor of the closet was a mess of lamps, cords, wiring, gel frames, and other miscellania. Jesse, who’d seen it all before, just winced, anticipating the struggle ahead.

“How do you find anything in here?” Genji asked, voice pained.

“That’s what we’re going to figure out,” Fareeha said, grinning at him. “C’mon, boys.” She stepped over a few lamps and started pulling all the cords she could find out of the mess.

 

So far Ana only had a few names on her list of ‘people who could be contracted for another show.’ Lena Oxton had been first to reply, a bubbly, optimistic girl who had a wonderful gift for acting and apparently boundless enthusiasm. Ana was glad Lena had agreed to come back - she was good for everyone’s morale, especially during tech.

She pushed her chair back from the desk and shut off her computer, deciding to go for a walk to stretch out her muscles. She noticed Fareeha, Jesse, and Genji on their way to the parking lot, looking tired and worn-out. However, Fareeha had thrown her arm around Jesse the way she always did, and the trio were laughing and chattering away.

Ana smiled. Despite the green hair, Genji seemed like a good kid. There was still something about him that seemed off to her, though, at least when he talked to adults. A reservation that wasn’t there with his peers. She watched as her daughter and Genji bickered over who got to ride shotgun before Fareeha let him take it, relinquishing the position to the guest while Jesse immediately turned the radio to a country music station.

Ana turned away with a chuckle. At least they were getting along.

 

The three friends decided to visit Genji’s motel room for the afternoon, since it was close to the theatre anyways. After a brief stop at the local coffeeshop, owned by a friendly barista named Bastion who made it a point to attend every production by the Overwatch theatre company, they burst into Genji’s room chattering and revitalized.

Genji flopped onto his bed, making sure not to spill his drink onto the covers. It’d be unfair for the motel staff to have to clean his bedsheets right after they’d replaced them.

“Welcome to my domain,” he said grandly to his friends, gesturing around him with a flourish.

Looking around, it was a plain room with a single bed. A large Pachimari plush sat between the pillows, with a little metal headband resting on its crown. The bathroom was right next to the door, like most motels. There were a few paintings of local flowers on the green walls, which gave the room a slightly more cheery air. There was a small desk pushed against the wall opposite the bed, with a lamp on it. The lampshade was green as well, patterned with leaves. A round table with an ashtray and mugs was by the window, with two rickety chairs pulled up to it.

The curtains were shut when they came in, but Genji set his drink on the bedisde table and bounced up to open them so that the room was flooded with sun - a bit too much sun, actually, so he pulled them halfway shut again. His room, being on the third floor, had a clear view of the parking lot in front of the motel, and Fareeha came over to peek out.

“Not a bad place to camp out for a few months,” she commented.

Genji nodded and sat back down on the bed. Jesse had claimed a creaky chair for himself and almost put his boots up on the table, but a glare from Genji had him meekly lowering his feet. Just because Genji wasn’t as fastidious as his brother didn’t mean that he wanted cowboy boot prints over his furniture. Similarly, he frowned when Jesse made to pull out a pack of cigarettes. Not that Genji didn’t have his own vices, but inside the motel room was a little much.

Speaking of Hanzo, he hadn’t returned Genji’s calls from the previous night, and hadn’t read any of his texts either. Genji wouldn’t normally be worried, since this was a pretty common occurrence with the brothers, but Hanzo had actually promised to give him a call when he got back to Japan to let him know how his shiba inu was doing. Genji was worried both for the dog and for his brother, who wasn’t one to break promises.

He checked his phone surreptitiously while Fareeha and Jesse made themselves comfortable. Nothing. He took a sip of his coffee.

“Oh, hey,” Jesse said suddenly, tapping his chin. They looked at him. “I haven’t told Genji ‘bout the crew name we gave ourselves yet.”

Genji tilted his head, intrigued. Fareeha only snorted.

“And that would be...?” Genji inquired.

“Well, the theatre’s called Overwatch, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Well, Gabe figured that since the crew always wears black, it’d be fun to call ourselves Blackwatch. And that’s the unofficial name that we call ourselves every show. It’s a secret though, no one’s supposed to know. Like traditions.” Jesse winked.

A smile spread across Genji’s face. Somehow, being let into a secret like that, however, small, made him feel a lot better. “That’s a cool name,” he said, nodding.

“You’re part of Blackwatch now!” Fareeha added, leaning over to shake his hand, with a mock-serious tone as she said, “It’s a serious commitment, are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“I am, sir,” Genji returned, matching her tone. They kept shaking hands even after he finished speaking, gradually starting to squeeze each other’s hands harder and harder until Genji pried himself free with a yelp.

“You all right?” Fareeha asked, a tinge of concern on her face.

“No, no, I’m fine,” he said, laughing. “I’m beginning to see a pattern here, I think.”

Jesse and Fareeha joined in the laughter, Jesse saying, “Never try to match Fareeha in handshakes, she’ll crush you into a pulp.”

Genji exaggerated shaking his hand in pain. “I think she’s getting a good start on that with me.”

“Fa’s technically not a full-time part of Blackwatch anyways,” Jesse said. “She acts sometimes, or works front of house.”

Genji spun to look at her more closely. “You act?”

“Oh,” she said, turning red. “Only sometimes. Usually in the ensemble. You know, if they need someone else.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jesse scoffed. “You played that lead role in the one from before we left - _Crisis_ , I think it was called?”

She rubbed her neck. “Well, it was basically just my mother’s shameless self-insert character, which I’m pretty sure is the only reason I got the role.”

“It was good,” Jesse insisted.

“I’m sure it was amazing,” Genji assured her. While she was mumbling thanks, his phone buzzed, and he snatched it up. A short text greeted him:

 

_Bro:_

_How is the trip?_

 

At least he was alive, he thought sardonically. Genji let Jesse and Fareeha banter in the background as he responded quickly.

 

_thank god you replied, i was starting to worry you’d been offed_

_I got a job, kinda. It’s more volunteering_

_I’m on stage crew for the cowboy’s theatre!_

_They’re really nice here_

 

He waited.

 

_Bro:_

_I see_

_I’m still very much alive_

_Just had some delays_

_Father doesn’t like the idea of you being alone in the US with people he hasn’t met. He’s sending me after you. I’ll be at the airport in a few days_

 

Genji gaped. The whole point of leaving for the summer was to get away from family. And the whole point of Hanzo going home was because he _liked_ being home, unlike Genji. He thrived. He got homesick if away for too long, though he was getting over it. Having Hanzo join Genji in America was a bad idea for all involved.

 

_What???!!_

_I’m an adult, i can handl myself_

_Bro:_

_There’s no point in arguing_

_Believe me, I tried_

_:(_

_Bro:_

_Feel free to try and convince Father yourself_

_no thanks_

 

“You okay, Genji?”

He glanced up. Jesse looked slightly concerned. Fareeha matched his look, interrupting her ramble about some first person shooter she was annoyed with.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he said quickly. The others didn’t look convinced.

“You’re looking pretty upset,” Fareeha said carefully. “Do you need... anything?”

“No, no.” He turned the phone off and tossed it onto the pillow. “Just my brother.” They looked wary, and he waved his hands. “It’s fine. He’s just, uh, coming over in a few days.”

They looked surprised, Jesse particularly. He knew a little about Genji’s strained relationship with the rest of his family.

“He’s okay,” Genji said, mostly for Jesse’s benefit. “A stick-in-the-mud, but he can get along with people.” He gave a cheerful smile, and they nodded, looking more reassured.

“He into theatre at all?” Fareeha asked, subtly guiding the conversation away from more dangerous territory, consciously or not. Genji silently thanked her.

“Oh yeah, he’s an artsy person. He does some acting in the community theatre near his university, but I think he mostly does crew.”

“Think we could recruit him?” Jesse asked lazily, pushing the ashtray around on the tabletop with a finger.

Genji frowned. “Maybe? I don’t know how he feels about doing stuff over the summer, really.”

“No sweat,” Jesse said, sitting up straight. He caught Genji’s eye. The green-haired man silently asked for a bigger distraction, and he rose to the occasion. “Hey, Sombra told me about a cat cafe that opened downtown, want to check it out?”

“I love cats,” Genji declared solemnly, rising from the bed.

“You have a dog,” Jesse said.

“I can still love cats. I am polyamorous. Besides, I’ve been to a ton of these in Japan.”

Fareeha agreed to the plan, and they headed back downstairs.

Fareeha offered to drive, and Genji graciously yielded shotgun to Jesse. It gave him a chance to check his phone again. He ignored a text from an ex-girlfriend from several months earlier (why in the world was she still messaging him, he’d had at least three more datemates since her) and instead decided to scroll through social media to distract himself from the irritating fact that his brother was going to be here in a few days and probably upset the summer that had been looking so nice and fun for him.

He sighed internally and put his phone away again after a few minutes, opting to join the argument about which season of the original _Power Rangers_ had been the objectively worst.

 

Sombra was busy spreading advertisements around the internet, making payments, finishing up the flyers that were to be printed and posted around the city, and trying to catch a Riolu in Pokemon Platinum. While doing this, she had a sudden idea.

Over the years and especially at college, where she could operate away from Gabe’s and Jack’s prying eyes (not really, but they might have disapproved of some of her actions), Sombra had made not a few connections with a lot of people from different walks of life. People who could quite possibly be of huge help to the Overwatch Devising Theatre Company, and who were very much what the directors were looking for.

She reached for her phone and started dialing.

 

Jesse kept an eye on Genji as they went down the street from the parking lot to the cat cafe. He was pretty sure Genji was more upset about his brother coming soon than the man let on, but he wasn’t one to pry. While Genji was engaged and apparently perfectly happy while they headed downtown, it was slightly restrained, subtly lessened by his unhappiness.

Hopefully the cat cafe lightened his mood.

Fareeha pushed the door open. Genji gave a gasp of delight at the sight of cats lounging on their posts and beds around the restaurant.

The barista smiled as they went up to order. “Is this your first time in a place like this?” he asked Genji.

“No, but... kitties!” Genji’s face was one of pure joy.

Fareeha chuckled, and Jesse smiled. Genji would be fine for now.

 

No one had picked up the phone the last three times Sombra called, so she had switched tactics. After failing to get an answer after text and Skype call, she sent Satya an email, like some kind of barbarian. Actually, she sent two - one to her friend’s personal, and one to her work email.

Which, in retrospect, probably wasn’t a great idea, since Sombra was contacting her about other work. Oh well.

She went back to lying on her back and playing _Pokemon_ on her DS while waiting for a reply.

As it turned out, she didn’t need to worry about Satya getting into trouble, because that email no longer existed, according to the little notice that popped up in her inbox. A little concerning, especially because Sombra hadn’t heard anything about this, and she liked to know about such changes.

About five minutes after the emails were sent, she received a reply. Short, to the point, and dripping with irritation:

 

_What do you want?_

 

“Hah!” Sombra rolled over and reached for her laptop. “Finally!”

 

_Hey Sym, you know how you’re like really good at lighting stuff? We kinda need someone to be a lighting designer for the next show because gabe wants to branch out and get new perspectives and stuff, and then you wouldn’t have to work for your shitty boss anymore_

_What do you say?_

 

The reply was quick.

 

_Pick up your phone._

 

“Oh, _now_ you decide to call?” Her phone buzzed, and she grabbed it. “Hey, Sym!”

The voice on the other end was smooth and purposeful. “Sombra.”

“How you doing?” she asked cheerfully.

“I’m fine. You might know this already, but I’m no longer working at the Vishkar Theatre.”

“Oh, yeah. I noticed.”

“So. I need another job.”

“Yeah. Like I told you about?” Sombra rolled over onto her back again and stuck a leg in the air. “We could really use someone like you.” She paused. “Though I’ll be upfront about this, it’s not gonna pay as much. We’re a bit, you know.” She waved a hand in the air. “We need to watch the spending.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. When she spoke again, Satya’s voice was slightly more interested. “That’s fine. Send me what I need to fill out. I will get back to you.”

Sombra bicycled her legs in the air and grinned. “Beautiful. Look forward to working with you, amiga.”

There was a half-exasperated, half-affectionate sound on the other end, and then Satya hung up.

Still on her back, Sombra yelled towards the door, “Jack!”

A faint voice replied, “What?”

“I got a lighting designer for you! I think!”

“What?”

“I said I got you a lighting designer!”

Heavy footsteps came up the stairs, and Jack poked his head in. “A what?”

“A lighting designer.” Sombra waved her phone at him. “Are you proud?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Quite. Who is it?”

“Satya Vaswani. She’s very good, I assure you.”

He frowned. “Can we afford her?”

“She’s good with what we can pay her.”

“Great, then. Keep doing what you’re doing.” He stopped as he was turning around to leave. “Go outside for a bit, won’t you? It’s a lovely day. I’m heading out soon too.”

She shook her head and turned over to start typing, pulling up the files she’d need to send Satya. “I think I’m good. How’s the sunburn?”

He glowered at her and shut the door.

 

In Japan, Hanzo Shimada was packing with a scowl on his face.

His father had been very clear about it - he was worried that Genji might get into trouble, especially because he’d never met any of the people the younger boy was staying with, and they didn’t need more trouble with clan elders if anything did go wrong. So, Hanzo was going to chaperone him. His father hadn’t said that explicitly, but Hanzo knew that was what he’d be doing all summer.

He crammed a shirt into his suitcase with more force than necessary, temper rising. It was like Genji to drag everyone else into his escapades with no regard for others. Not that Hanzo had had any summer plans exactly, but he was not particularly fond of Midwestern American summers, spent at a small city and a tiny motel.

Why couldn’t Genji at least have gone somewhere tolerably entertaining for the summer?

Akio, Genji’s dog, nosed into his room past the door. Hanzo let him - the dog hadn’t stopped following him around since he’d come home a few days ago. He scratched the shiba inu behind the ears and shoved another shirt into the suitcase.

Suddenly he remembered that he had been supposed to tell Genji about his dog. It was a small thing, trivial. Almost pointless. But it had been a tradition, whenever one of them was home without the other, to send updates on the others’ pets. Something to keep them connected. And Hanzo had promised, as usual. And he’d forgotten. He looked down at the dog, who gazed back innocently.

Feeling guilty, Hanzo called Genji immediately. Another pointless part of the tradition - it had to be a call. It was nice to hear the other’s voice sometimes, unless they were mad at each other. Which seemed to be happening more often lately, even though they rarely actually even saw each other.

His forehead creased as the phone continued to ring, thinking about the argument he’d had with his father that morning about going to the US. Arguments. His life was filled with arguments. It was tiring.

Nobody answered the call, and he tossed the phone onto the bed. Perhaps Genji was busy. Or perhaps he just didn’t want to talk to him. The thought made him bitter, and then angry.

“I’m trying to _help_ him,” he told the dog furiously. Akio wagged his tail and bumped his leg. Hanzo sank onto the bed and resumed his packing, listless now.

“Ungrateful,” he muttered. He zipped the suitcase and began to drag it downstairs. It was going to be a long summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genji loves cats and dogs equally. His dad doesn't like cats though, so he only has a dog. Hanzo's pets are two ferrets named Udon and Soba.  
> Sombra calls Satya "Sym" (short for Symmetra) because they met online and that was the username Satya had.


	3. New Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Shimada bros interaction for you today, and Sombra talks to another friend

Two days later, Hanzo Shimada arrived at the airport and was greeted with the sight of his brother’s green hair flying in his face and arms in a near-stranglehold around his neck. To his surprise, Genji appeared near tears, babbling something as fast as he could.

“Aniki! Thank God you’re here, it’s been awful, the food is awful, I’ve been sick for days, take me home please -”

“What?” Hanzo stiffened, eyes narrowing. His eyes darted to the two people waiting nearby. If they’d hurt his little brother -

Genji drew back, laughing. “I’m kidding! I love it here! It’s very fun, much more fun than it is at home.” He crossed his arms and regarded his brother. “Much more fun,” he repeated, then abruptly continued, “And there are my friends! I hope you’ll get along with them. I know that’s hard sometimes with my friends.”

Hanzo exhaled. So it had just been another of Genji’s bad jokes. He could live with that. Then again, within minutes of his touching down in the US, his brother was trying to goad him into an argument already. He could feel his energy draining away with every word out of Genji’s mouth.

“That’s good,” he said, voice flat. “I look forward to meeting them.”

Genji led him over to the others, who seemed wary of Hanzo, but friendly. The taller man had a cowboy hat and boots, and an absolutely, hideously gaudy belt buckle that spelled “BAMF.” He cut an interesting figure in the middle of an airport.

The woman had beads in her braids, a tattoo under one eye, and impressive muscles, and was a few inches taller than Hanzo. She looked intimidating enough. He wondered how Genji had managed to befriend people like these.

“Jesse, Fareeha, this is my brother,” Genji announced, gesturing grandly to him. Hanzo held back a scowl of annoyance and bowed slightly. “Hanzo, this is Jesse and Fareeha. They’re my friends. Be nice to them.”

His tone rubbed Hanzo the wrong way, but he bit back a retort and nodded as the two waved. They seemed friendly, but they were strangers, and his brother’s friends at that, which made all the difference.

He couldn’t wait to go home.

 

Given a few days, Genji had made peace with the idea that his brother was coming, and instead had apparently become very excited to introduce him to his friends. Jesse and Fareeha were standing a little awkwardly to the side, and gave little waves when introduced. Fareeha, apparently struck by the extreme formality with which Hanzo carried himself, held out a hand. She refrained from squeezing too hard, since she didn’t know the guy at all. Genji, seeing this, seemed a little disappointed.

Jesse noticed Hanzo look at his hat, and tipped it in an exaggerated fashion. “Pleased to meet ya,” he offered. “Need help with the bags at all?”

“I’m fine, but thank you,” Hanzo said, frowning. He grabbed the handle to his suitcase, his knuckles whitening as though the handle were a lifeline.

Fareeha cleared her throat and pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “We should get going. There’s still some stuff we have to finish up for Gabe back home and... yeah.”

Hanzo gave her a nod. They started for the parking lot.

Jesse kept an eye on Genji. The young man was about as tall as his brother, though his hair gave him an extra inch or so. He’d been all chatter on the way to the airport, alternatively lamenting his brother’s stick-in-the-mud-ness and praising his achievements.

“And he’s nice if you get to know him,” Genji had said as they drew up to the airport, “He just doesn’t bother to know a lot of people.” He’d then continued his story about the time he and Hanzo snuck into a movie theater “for the thrill” and gotten caught, but Hanzo had talked their way out of it with what Genji termed his “mob boss look.”

And then Genji switched to complaining about how Hanzo was no fun on holidays because he was so uptight and traditional about everything. Jesse and Fareeha had listened and exchanged a slightly nervous look. They weren’t quite sure how well they could interact with this guy.

Now, Genji was relatively subdued, and was quieter than he’d been for days. Jesse was slightly concerned, but the brothers were adults and should deal with whatever they were dealing with on their own terms.

The car ride back was also more subdued. Fareeha drove. She and Jesse didn’t know what to say initially until Genji mentioned the fast-approaching end of the dark week, which would mean a burst of activity as the company started coming up with ideas for their next production. Jesse said that Jack and Gabe already had some ideas that he wasn’t allowed to reveal just yet, and Fareeha chimed in with how anxious her mother was about the whole thing.

It wasn’t quite natural conversation - at least not for Jesse. He couldn’t exactly forget about the mostly silent passenger in the backseat, who only talked when directly spoken to, and then typically very short, blunt answers. Hanzo sat and looked out of the window and appeared to ignore the conversation.

They dropped the brothers off at the motel. Genji bounced out and led Hanzo into the building, starting to talk again in Japanese. What he said Jesse couldn’t even guess at, but hopefully they would be okay. Arrangements had already been made, so rooming and such wasn’t going to be a problem.

Fareeha leaned over across Jesse to wave after Genji.

“That brother of his is really something, huh?” she muttered.

“Wonder if he always looks like he wants to gut you, or if that’s reserved for new people,” Jesse added.

Fareeha snorted. “Doubt it. Anyways, you said something about needing to help deep-clean the garage, and I promised my mom that I’d pick up some stuff from the store for her, so I’ll drop you off home too.”

Sombra whisked the front door open the moment Fareeha pulled up.

“Jesse,” she said solemnly. “Come help me.”

“Where’s Gabe?” he responded.

“In the garage. But you need to _help me_ , right now.”

The car pulled away, and Jesse turned to head for the garage. “I promised Gabe that - ”

Sombra seized his arm and dragged him backwards through the door. “No. Help me. It’s more important.”

“Wha - fine.” Jesse resigned himself to being tugged upstairs and into Sombra’s room. He managed to take his hat off and sling it in the direction of the couch on the way up.

The moment the door closed, Sombra turned on him and began babbling.

“There’s a girl coming here in a week or so and I need to make a good impression on her and she’s really cute so I can’t have her leaving as soon as she shows up and she’s already been vetted and approved so don’t you give me that ‘you shouldn’t be impulsive’ look because it wasn’t really impulsive and anyways she has to have a good time here, she has too.”

Jesse blinked, taking a moment to process what she’d said. “You - who now?”

She took a deep breath. “Satya Vaswani. She used to work for Vishkar. She was on the cover of one of those magazines that Jack subscribes to, remember?”

He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t read those, y’know that.”

“Neither do I, but they’re all over the place in this house, you must have seen her.”

“I’ve never seen her in my life, never heard of her.” Jesse frowned. “But Vishkar? Why would someone from _Vishkar_ want to come join little ol’ us? Where did you put those ads? What did you put _in_ them?”

“I didn’t get her through an ad, I asked her to come,” Sombra said, starting to look exasperated. “It’s not important - we just need to make sure some of the _people_ don't screw it up for me.”

Jesse rubbed his neck and chuckled. “Fine, fine. Be your wingman, is that all?”

“No, not really,” Sombra said, smiling now. "As if I needed your help with romance, Mr. Can't-Keep-A-Guy-To-Save-His-Life."

"Ouch," he protested.

She held up a finger. “Just help me keep other people in line, okay? Please? Genji, for one. No offense, but he’s a little... loud. And then Gabe is going to try his best to embarrass me. And now that there’s that new guy, I don’t know what he’s like yet but if he’s anything like his brother, keep him in check too.” She paused. “Actually, he’s pretty cute.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Better stick to one for now, don’t you think?”

She shrugged. “Just saying. He seems like your type.”

“By which you mean...?”

“Pretty, long hair, probably out of your league.”

“Ouch. Again.” He patted his chest, over his heart. “No, I am definitely not attracted to him. Genji’s told me enough about him. Definitely out of my league, anyways.”

Sombra shrugged. “All right. Anyways, help me with Sy - Satya, and I’ll repay you! You know I always do. I can help you with... whatever. Whoever. You know the drill.”

He did know the drill. He knew it very well. In some instances, it hadn’t gone particularly well. On the other hand, sometimes it did, and she _was_ his sister.

He sighed. “Okay.”

Sombra beamed.

 

Their rooms were next to each other, probably so that Hanzo could keep an easy eye on his brother.

“It was Father’s idea,” Hanzo explained when Genji frowned at the room number on the card. “It - ”

He broke off. Genji had already started walking for the elevator. Hanzo stood for a moment in the lobby, then thanked the confused receptionist and followed.

“Genji,” he tried again, while they were waiting for the elevator. His younger brother pointedly ignored him. “Genji, we need to talk.”

“Later,” Genji said flatly. He refused to talk for the rest of the short trip up to their rooms. He didn’t stick around, instead immediately going into his own room and closing the door with a final _thump_.

Hanzo stepped into his own room and looked around at the small, plain space. His already low spirits sank even further. He was supposed to spend an entire _summer_ here?

At least he’d managed to get a call through to Genji and tell him about his dog. Genji had been almost friendly during the short conversation, but hung up suddenly at the end when Hanzo was in the middle of a sentence about Father’s request that he (Genji) call his parents sometime soon.

Hanzo rubbed a hand down his face and sighed. What motivation he’d had to try and repair his relationship with his brother had rapidly dissipated upon actually meeting Genji in the states. He set his luggage in the corner, set his phone on the bedside table, and sat on the bed to stare at the wall.

His phone screen lit up with a notification at about the same time he heard the door to Genji’s room next door slam again. The text was from... Genji.

 

_Genji:_

_Im going out_

_have fun_

 

_have fun doing what, exactly?_

 

No reply.

He set his phone back on the table and rose slowly to get a charger. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to babysit Genji for an entire summer, especially when Genji was so adamantly opposed to any kind of familial supervision.

He refused to admit it to himself, thinking it was a sign of weakness, but he was already homesick.

Hanzo buried his face in his hands and groaned.

 

Gabe flipped idly through one of Jack’s theatre magazines, not really processing anything he was looking at. He was sitting on an old couch that he’d found at the back of the garage and dusted off, with his feet propped up on a broken electronic keyboard that they would have to dispose of later. Jesse had finally come in to help him finish cleaning out the garage and then promptly left again to be with his friends. Gabe didn’t grudge him that. It was his summer vacation, after all.

He closed the magazine with a grunt. In a few days it would be the end of the break, and they would have to start devising again. Ana had a solid list of people who’d be coming in, and apparently Sombra had a few people she was personally asking to join as well.

He pulled his beanie over his face and tipped his head back. Budget was still an issue, of course. There were still multiple crew positions that they’d need to fill over the course of the next couple weeks. Ideally they’d be filled by tomorrow, but the schedule for this production was going to be a little bit looser. Jack and Ana had reluctantly agreed.

Sombra clattered down the stairs inside the house. A few seconds later, Gabe could hear music begin pumping through the living room.

“Sombra!” he yelled, pushing his beanie off of his face. The music grew slightly quieter, and Sombra opened the garage door.

“Yeah?”

“How’s it going with getting your friends to join?”

“Pretty well, actually,” she said, giving him a thumbs up. “Don’t know if Jack already told you, but I got us a lighting designer.”

Gabe nodded. “That’s good. Good news.” _I could use more good news, really_. “What do you want for lunch?”

She shrugged. “Whatever, really.” She withdrew.

Gabe considered taking a nap on the couch. It was a pretty comfortable couch, though he couldn’t remember why it was in their garage. He thought better of it and got up.

“Sombra, you okay with getting your own lunch?” he called.

“Sure,” came the muffled reply from inside the house. The music volume swelled.

“I’m going out,” Gabe continued, reaching for his hoodie. “Be back in a couple hours.”

He put in a call to Jack, who picked up quickly.

“How about a lunch date?” Gabe asked, trying to hold the phone while pulling his hoodie over his head.

Jack chuckled. “Sure. I’m at the farmer’s market, but I’ll come pick you up.”

“Great. How about the little place in the downtown area - Oladele’s?”

“Oh, that’s good. See you in a few minutes.”

Gabe texted Jesse next to check in on him.

 

_When will you be back?_

 

_Jesse:_

_we’re at bastions coffee shop_

_So probably a few hours_

_uh_

_Genji’s a bit upset_

 

Hm. Gabe felt a tug of sympathy for the kid. He knew very little about him except that there were some personal problems he was working through, but it probably had some connection to the brother who’d arrived today. Family trouble was never easy.

 

_Try and be back before dinner_

 

Someone honked from the driveway, and Sombra yelled, “Jack’s here!”

Gabe stood, smoothing away his frown. He’d focus on something else for a while.

 

Once the adults were out of the house, Sombra opened a video call to the one and only Hana Song.

The other girl answered with a pair of pink bunny-eared headphones around her neck. She wasn’t even looking at her computer, distracted by the video game she was in the middle of playing.

“What?” she asked without taking her eyes off the TV.

Sombra turned the music down on her end. “Did you get my texts? You didn’t reply.”

“Oh, right, yeah, yeah.” Hana started repeatedly smashing a few buttons, scowling at the game. “Stupid gnomes - anyways, I got it. I’m down for being an actor, it sounds really cool. Also, no lie, I’ve always been kinda interested in that kind of thing. Making up your own shows and performing them sounds pretty neat.” She leaned forward, looking irritated. “This stupid boss won’t die!”

Sombra tried to see what she was playing, but Hana’s laptop camera was angled away from her game. “Whatcha playing?”

“Some random game a friend told me about. It’s called Castle Crashers.”

“Oh. I think I’ve heard of it. Um, so can you make it in time? You’re on summer vacation and stuff, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I worked it out with my dad. He’s coming with me though, but he’ll be off seeing the sights and being a tourist.” She laughed and shrugged. “If that’s okay.”

“Yeah, sure.” Sombra waved a hand. “Gabe will be happy. He’ll probably say that you’ve got a lot of experiences you could contribute to the production or something.”

Hana looked over at the camera for a moment, grinning. “Nice. Well, I think the flight’s booked for Tuesday.”

Sombra nodded.

“Is Lu going? Do you know?”

“I talked to him. I think so, but he said he had to check his schedule first.” The song in the background changed to one of Lúcio’s tracks. “Oh, and Satya’s coming too.”

“Symmetra?” Hana hit pause on her game and spun to face the computer fully. “You actually got her to come?” A mischievous smile spread across her face. “I’ll put in a good word for you if you like...”

“Shut up,” Sombra said, but she was smiling.

Hana unpaused her game and went back to spamming buttons at the unseen boss. “Anything else we need to talk about?”

“Nope. See you on Tuesday, then?”

“Yeah!” Hana broke off gaming long enough to wave. “See ya! And tell Lúcio that he better do it if I am!”

The call ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ages in here are most certainly not canon ages (obviously) but not really consistently changed. Basically most of the older people are a little younger, the thiry-year-olds are more in their twenties, and the youngest stay the same age. So Hana's still 19, Zenyatta (when he shows up) will still be 20, etc. Efi will also make an appearance, and she is also still 11.  
> It's messy but it's how I'm picturing things in my head :P
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Meeting the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A company party, some new characters are added, some more character interactions!

It was Saturday. Two days until they started devising again. At the Wilhelm-Amari household, Reinhardt and Fareeha were putting together lunch, exchanging jokes and laughter and enjoying themselves hugely. In her home office in the garage, Ana was still working.

“Jack, bring the family tonight for dinner,” Ana said as she tapped her pen against a job application on her desk. Her phone sat on speaker in front of her. “We’re going to have a nice little supper, get to know some of the new people, how about it?”

“Sounds exhausting,” Jack replied with a grunt. “We’ll be there early to help set up, don’t overwork yourself. You’re still going through applications, aren’t you?”

“Pssh, it’s nothing. I’m almost done.”

“ _ Don’t _ overwork yourself, Ana.”

She laughed. “Don’t be a mother hen, Jack. I’m fine. See you tonight.” She ended the call and called towards the kitchen, “Fareeha!”

Her daughter’s voice was muffled but loud enough to penetrate the wall. “Yeah, mama?”

“Invite that green-haired friend of yours to dinner tonight, and his brother.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I already told you, for the dinner. We interviewed Hanzo yesterday. He seems like a good addition.” Ana chuckled. It had been a very informal interview, but that just summed up the general tone of the company’s operations.  “He didn’t give a definite answer on whether he wanted to join, but we may as well invite him.”

“Oh, right. Okay, okay.”

“I have not met Genji’s brother yet!” Reinhardt exclaimed. “This shall be an exciting evening!”

Ana pushed aside her work and went into the kitchen, patting Reinhardt affectionately on the arm as she leaned across the counter to watch the cooking. “I’m going to ask Lena, Mei, and Ms. Vaswani as well, if they can make it,” Ana informed her family. “And of course the boys. It’ll be a bit of a crowd, but we can manage.” She paused. “Actually, I think I’ll invite Angela as well. She’s not officially part of the company but she could probably use a little relaxation after medical school. You should call her and ask, don’t you think, Fareeha?”

Fareeha’s face lit up. “Yeah,” she said. “I can do that! I’ll call her after lunch.” She turned the stove off as her parents went about setting the table. “Mac and cheese, anyone?”

 

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

_ Beep. _

Something wouldn’t shut up.

Sombra fumbled for her bedside dresser and patted around until her fingers grasped her phone. She tapped randomly at the screen until the alarm stopped. She flopped back onto her pillows and yawned.

“What time is it?” she grumbled to herself, throat dry. She blinked bleary eyes and squinted at her phone. It was practically noon. Why had she set an alarm to this time anyways...?

It hit her like a runaway train. “Shit! Satya!”

She hauled herself out of bed and got dressed in record time, and then tore her way downstairs. Gabe would have cried with happiness if she’d had this kind of energy in the mornings when she was still in high school.

“Where’s the fire?” Jack asked, amused, as she leaped down the last five steps and slid on socked feet down the wooden floor into the kitchen.

“Hola, Sombrita,” was Gabe’s only comment. He was sprawled on the couch with a pillow over his face. She allowed herself a moment to consider that he’d picked a pretty bad place to try and nap before returning to the matter at hand.

“Satya comes today,” Sombra gasped. “Like, her plane arrives in half an hour. I gotta get to the airport.” Her throat burned from not having drank anything in over twelve hours, and her voice was raspy. Jack handed her a glass of water and turned back to the stove, where it looked like he was cooking lunch.

“Keys are in the hallway,” Jesse offered from his seat in the big armchair. He was texting someone.

“Oh. Okay, great. See you guys la-”

“Eat something first,” Gabe said without removing his pillow.

She ignored him, drained her water glass, and bolted down the hallway.

“Sombra! Eat something!”

“Relax, Gabe, she’ll get plenty to eat at Ana’s later, at least,” Jack said soothingly. He grumbled but gave up yelling after her.

 

As it turned out, Sombra made it to the airport in good time. The plane was slightly delayed, so she could even flatter herself that she was early. At any rate, Satya smiled when she saw her, and they drove back, both soon engaged in an enthusiastic rant about the quality of airplane food.

Sombra dropped her friend off at her arranged hotel. The moment she got back home, Gabe pounced on her and had her eat what she was pretty sure amounted to three missed meals.

“Are we going to Ana’s?” she asked Jack with her mouth full.

“Yep.”

She nodded. “It’s the company thing, right?”

“Yep.”

“So Satya’s invited?”

“Satya?”

She swallowed her food. “The lighting designer? Who I just picked up?”

“Oh, yes, right. Absolutely. And Genji and his brother. And Lena...” Jack glanced at his daughter, who now wore a slightly less enthusiastic expression. Lena and Sombra had a... tenuously polite relationship at best.

“Play nice, Sombra,” Gabe commented. He was once again reclining on the couch, but was pretending to be busy with his tablet. She knew he was just playing a game, though.

“I try!”

“Try harder.”

While wrinkling her nose at him, Sombra noticed that her brother was gone again. “Where’s Jesse?”

“Kid’s been running off with Fareeha and Genji a lot,” Jack said, shrugging.

She got up, pushing her plate away. “Got any new applications for the theatre?”

“A couple,” Jack replied. He rubbed his neck absently and adjusted his glasses. “Good job with the ads, I finally got a look at them.”

She shuffled her feet a tad self-consciously. Normally quick to snap up compliments, unless they came from her family. “Thanks, Dad.”

He clapped her on the shoulder as she passed him on the way upstairs. “Don’t strain your eyes, kiddo.”

She rolled her eyes as she closed her bedroom door. “Yeah, yeah.”

 

Satya was welcomed with open arms and more than a little curiosity. Gabe wanted to know why she'd left Vishkar, of all places - a large, well-known theatre, which almost certainly had better pay than anything Overwatch could afford, not to mention that she'd been given a scholarship at the Vishkar-funded art school in the first place.

"I'm already graduated," Satya explained. "I graduated in two years - I had enough credits. And Vishkar..." She frowned. "Was not a place I wanted to work at further." And that was all she would say about that.

Jack was curious about some of the productions she’d done before, and Satya was happy to oblige. Though she initially gave off the appearance of being fairly reserved, she waxed eloquent about the many shows she’d been a part of, pausing suddenly in the middle of a sentence.

“My apologies, I was... babbling, I’m afraid,” she began, but Jack smiled and encouraged her to continue. Looking at Sombra for reassurance (she nodded enthusiastically), she did.

Jesse greeted her as warmly as anyone else, before retreating. She was so  _ refined _ . Hard to imagine Sombra falling for someone like her. But then again, he didn’t want to judge.

Sombra was delighted, at any rate. She practically attached herself to the newcomer, offering to guide her around the theatre and the town and keep her company before dinner started. Jesse watched her haul the woman off outside to the car to presumably show her around a little, and possibly to get away before Lena arrived.

Genji and Hanzo were there as well. Jesse cast a glance over at Hanzo occasionally. The man was standing alone in a corner, watching the proceedings with a blank face. Genji had abandoned him the moment they entered the house in favor of introducing himself to Angela, who was chuckling at whatever he was saying. Fareeha was lurking a little beyond them, keeping an eye on both Genji and Angela.

Jesse looked over again at the man standing in the corner. He didn't know Hanzo beyond what little he'd seen of the other man and what Genji had told him, but he didn't think the guy deserved to spend an entire evening alone. Jesse walked over.

"Hey," he offered, coming to a stop near him and pretending to tip a hat.

Hanzo gave him an once-over and raised an eyebrow. "Hello."

Jesse tried for a friendly smile. “Promise I don’t bite.”

Hanzo’s expression didn’t change. “I’m sure.”

Jesse leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. He usually didn’t have trouble with talking to people, but most of the people he had conversations with at least tried to keep up their end of it. Or maybe he shouldn’t be bothering Hanzo. He cleared his throat.

“So, you intendin’ on joining the company?”

At that, Hanzo tilted his head slightly and frowned. “I... am undecided on the matter.” He paused. “It was kind of the directors to invite me when they do not know me.”

“Naw,” Jesse said, grinning. “They like ya.”

Hanzo’s lips twitched slightly, as if he was going to smile, but he didn’t. “That’s good to hear.”

Ana materialized in front of them, holding two glasses of cider. “Jesse,” she said, nodding and smiling at Hanzo. “We have more guests arriving, do you mind getting the door for them? I think Jack is bringing a grill and we’ll need to set it up in the backyard.” She moved away, handing one of her glasses to her husband and sipping from the other.

“Well,” Jesse said, nodding to Hanzo as well. “Care to join me? Or... well, guess you might wanna avoid the crowds.”

“It is fine,” Hanzo said simply, pushing himself off the wall and following him to the door. “I can help if needed.”

“Great,” Jesse said, relieved. “There’s a lot of people coming - hey, Lena!”

He pulled open the door to reveal an excited-looking woman with a mop of spiky hair and a bomber jacket. She laughed when she saw him and immediately hugged him around the chest.

“Jesse!” she cried warmly. “I haven’t seen you in months!” She noticed Hanzo and held out a hand to him. “You must be new, haven’t seen you before! My name’s Lena Oxton, and this is Emily, my girlfriend.” She gestured to the red-haired woman standing just behind her with a cardboard box of paper plates and utensils, who waved.

“Pleased to meet you,” Hanzo replied, shaking both women’s hands. He eyed the box, which wasn’t heavy but was a bit unwieldy. “I can help carry some of the things if you like.”

“That’s fine,” Emily assured him. “I can do it, but thank you.”

She and Lena vanished into the kitchen, where they were met by Reinhardt and were immediately enveloped in a massive hug, box and all.

Jesse closed the door and sat on a chair nearby to look out the window. Hanzo sat nearby, brushing his bangs out of his face.

“Lena’s pretty energetic,” Jesse said, to fill the temporary silence. “Can be a bit jarrin’, but she’s a good friend.” Hanzo made a small noise in acknowledgement, looking quietly out the window.

“Who is the short man with the beard?” he asked, pointing with his chin at someone outside. Jesse twisted in his seat to check.

“Oh, that’s Torbjorn. Set designer. He’s...” Jesse rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s something. Not super friendly to newcomers though.”

“Noted,” Hanzo murmured. He rose to open the door before the new visitors reached it.

Torbjorn’s wife came in first, a child on one hip and a basket of food on the other. She beamed at Jesse, nodded cordially to Hanzo, and moved aside quickly to make room for her husband, who came in with at least three children piled on him, tugging on his beard or fiddling with the moving bits on his prosthetic hand.

“Mr. Lindholm,” Jesse greeted. “Need help?”

“If you want to get one of the kids here,” he grunted, then looked up at Hanzo. “And who’re you?”

“Hanzo Shimada. I’m... new.”

“Hmph.” Torbjorn gave him a look, then marched on past.

Jesse shrugged at Hanzo and bent to pick up one of the children. She giggled and blew a raspberry. “We’ll just herd them into the living room and make sure they don’t get in the way of the people setting up.”

Hanzo scooped up another excited child and nodded. The kid giggled and bounced in his arms, tugging on his shirt.

“My papa’s got tattoos too!” he declared suddenly. “But his are a lot smaller.” He looked up into his bearer’s face with interest. “Did it hurt?”

Hanzo stiffened and freed a hand to tug his shirt back into place. Jesse looked over at him, surprised. He’d seen Genji’s massive back tattoo a few times, when they’d gone to the pool or the beach together, but hadn’t considered that Hanzo might also have one. He realized he was staring, and Hanzo was staring back with a rather antagonistic expression, so he averted his gaze and started exchanging raspberries with the child in his arms.

“It hurt a little,” Hanzo admitted as they started for the living room. “But it was done over a long time, not all at once.”

The kid  _ ooh _ ed and poked at his arm. “That’s so cool!”

Jesse stole a look. Hanzo actually chuckled as he lowered the squirming child onto the couch. “I suppose it is.”

The kids were corralled in front of the TV, which was playing a tactically selected movie for them:  _ Cars. _ It had been chosen to appeal to the greatest percentage of the children present, and the effect was magical - they hushed instantly, scrambling to find seats where they could both sprawl haphazardly across furniture and comfortably watch the movie at the same time. If someone tried to talk, the rest shushed them. They might be little devils when distracted, but the Lindholms had taught their children excellent theatre etiquette.

“Jesse! Get your sorry ass out here and help set up!” Genji yelled from the backyard. Fareeha promptly cuffed him.

“There are kids around,” she warned.

“Oh, right, sorry.” He rubbed his shoulder ruefully. “You pack a punch, Fa.”

Jesse started for the backyard, then glanced over his shoulder. Hanzo hung back, a wary look on his face, before abruptly turning and going into the kitchen, effectively concealing himself behind Reinhardt’s massive form as he reached to open packets of paper plates.

_ Right. Genji. Of course _ . Jesse bit his lip and went to help Genji and Jack beat the old grill into submission.

 

Sombra and Satya came back about half an hour later, bringing Mei with them. The cheerful set designer greeted everyone and presented a portable freezer with a delicious-looking ice cream cake. Satya looked a little put-upon by the noise and the crowds, so Sombra invited her upstairs to avoid the bulk of the party for the time being.

“Everyone has been very kind,” Satya said, sinking onto a stool in the guest room. “I’ll be honest - I was expecting more... hostility.” A flicker of distaste crossed her face, and Sombra suddenly felt a surge of sympathy.

“They don’t know what happened, and you don’t have to tell them,” she pointed out. “Vishkar’s not a favorite, but people here aren’t going to be upset at you when they barely know you.”  _ Except maybe Lena. That girl can really hold a grudge _ .

Satya sighed and rubbed the bracelet on her wrist. “I hope so.”

Sombra sat herself on the bed and leaned forward, elbows on her knees. “How about this,” she offered. “I’ll tell you about the people here so you’re prepared when we go down again, and then if you like I can go downstairs for you and grab food for us both.”

“I don’t think we should eat up here,” Satya said, indicating the spotless bedroom. 

“Oh, true.” Sombra hesitated. “We can find a quiet spot somewhere. I can scout for one.”

“That would be nice.” Satya paused. “First, the company.”

“Right.” Sombra settled herself onto the bed, pulling one foot up and tucking it under her other leg. “Uh, I’ll just start with the people who’ll be most likely to talk to you. Mrs. Amari’s our host, she’s nice, and if she talks to you she probably won’t pry, she’s really chill--”

Someone shouted up the stairs that food was ready.

“Want me to grab you something?” Sombra offered.

“I’ll... go with you.” Satya stood with her.

“You don’t have to,” Sombra began, but Satya smiled and opened the door.

“Come on, Sombra. Tell me about everyone else later.”

 

A few hours later, things were winding down. Lena, Emily, Mei, Angela, Gabe, and Reinhardt were playing Uno in the middle of the living room with Ana and Hanzo as spectators, while Sombra and Satya were having some kind of discussion with Jack and Winston in the front room. The Lindholm children were mostly scattered throughout the backyard, supervised by their father and Brigette, who’d arrived much later thanks to intense traffic jams. Fareeha, Genji, and Jesse were sitting in the kitchen in companionable silence and enjoying the atmosphere.

“She’s cute,” Genji commented almost absently, sipping from a can of soda. Jesse raised an eyebrow as he looked over at his friend.

“Who?” Fareeha asked, popping mixed nuts into her mouth. In the living room, somebody screeched  _ “UNO!” _ and prompted a burst of shouting and laughter.

Genji took another sip. “Angela.”

Jesse’s eyebrows shot upwards, and Fareeha’s face turned faintly pink. She coughed, and Jesse thumped her on the back in case she’d choked on an almond.

“Not that I’m all that interested in, you know,” Genji flapped a hand. “Dating her. But she’s cute. Is she seeing anyone?”

“Yes,” Fareeha said a little too quickly, voice slightly strained. Jesse looked at her askance, as this was news to him. So did Genji, but he didn’t seem suspicious, just curious.

“Who?” he inquired.

Fareeha was saved from digging herself a deeper hole by the timely arrival of none other than Torbjorn Lindholm himself. Their resident master technician, and Jack was of the firm opinion that he was an innovative genius. He was in fact “a stubborn bastard,” according to Sombra (who’d clashed with him a few times the way she’d managed to clash with every long-term company member), but even she admitted that he was good at his job nonetheless. Torbjorn arrived with one of his many children clinging to his leg and staring at the trio with wide eyes.

“I checked over some of the storage today,” he began, addressing Fareeha, mostly, but glancing at Jesse as well. “There’s a bunch of flats missing from the last show that I was going to take apart tomorrow. SInce you guys were the last ones to clean the place, thought I’d ask you.”

“Oh, do you mean the ones with the bushes painted on them?” Fareeha asked. “Because I’m pretty sure we put those in the other storage unit because they were taking up too much space.” She looked to Jesse and Genji for confirmation. They nodded firmly, though in reality neither remembered anything of the sort. There was a reason why Fareeha managed this kind of thing.

Another explosion of yelling and cheering erupted from the living room.

“Well, they need to be in the main storage unit,” Torbjorn said crabbily, waving his prosthetic. “If they’re out of place it will slow everything down, and we’re on a tight schedule!” The child on his leg blew a raspberry.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Lindholm,” Fareeha said, looking down and smiling at the kid. “Do you want us to move them back tomorrow?”

He frowned, then shook his head. “No, no. I’ll do that myself. I just wanted to make sure.” He bent to pick up the child - though he didn’t have to bend far - and left.

“That was kind of rude, wasn’t it?” Genji remarked, tipping his chair back.

“He’s good at his job,” Fareeha defended, “and he’s usually pretty nice if you don’t annoy him.”

“Oh,” Genji said. He looked down at his can of soda and looked pensive. “I see.”

Over in the living room, Jesse noticed that Hanzo had joined the Uno game. He was exchanging banter with the others and laughing. It seemed to change his entire appearance.

“Your brother’s havin’ fun,” Jesse noted, poking Genji in the leg with his foot.

Genji looked over at the Uno group, an odd mix of emotions on his face. “I’m glad,” he said abruptly, and drained his soda.

Fareeha gave Jesse a Look, and he mouthed back,  _ What? I didn’t do anything _ . She rolled her eyes.

Sombra and Satya wandered through, both giving the three a brief wave. Jesse remembered his promise to help Sombra out, but balked at the idea of talking to Satya about his sister. She looked so professional, even dressed down as she was for the informal dinner party.

“Sombra’s dating  _ her? _ ” Fareeha asked softly as the pair went outside. “She looks so... refined.”

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “I know.” He stole a handful of almonds out of Fareeha’s hand, and she scowled in indignation. “She almost seems too classy for our motley crew.”

“Maybe she’ll teach you guys some stuff about style,” Genji said, with a grin.

“You have neon green hair, Genji,” Fareeha said, looking pointedly at his head.

“What’s your point?”

“My point is - ”

“You got something against my hair?!”

Jesse quietly sipped at a soda as the conversation devolved into a joking argument about what colors were tasteful for dyed hair. Genji was the staunch defendant of unnaturally bright colors that looked like they should be labeled with a radiation warning, claiming that it made him look a lot more badass. On the other side, Fareeha pointed out that Genji looked like the Joker with slightly less makeup and an overabundance of Star Wars t-shirts.

Eventually Ana drifted over and cut them off, assigning both to dishwashing duty. Jesse was driven out into the backyard to help Jack pack up the grill, but Genji made faces at him through the window over the sink which offered a view into the backyard.

People were starting to join in the effort of cleaning up and packing their things. Sombra and Satya were the first to go, since Sombra had to drive both Mei and Satya to their respective residences. Angela left after hugging everyone she knew (for a few moments, Jesse thought that Fareeha was going to explode with suppressed joy), and then the Lindholms, Emily and Lena, and the Shimadas. The Reyes-Morrison household were the last to leave, as usual.

“See you tomorrow, Jesse,” Fareeha called, waving from the doorway.

He waved back as they pulled away from the house. Gabe was driving, with Jack leaning across the gap between front seats, resting his head on his husband’s shoulder.

“You’re a couple of old saps,” Jesse said, pushing his hat back on his head as he rubbed a hand through his hair.

“You better pick up some tips now, kiddo, before you lose another date,” Gabe replied, completely unconcerned.

Jesse sputtered, flushed, and drew his hat down over his face. “Everyone keeps bringing it up,” he grumbled.

His dads chuckled. He pulled his hat down further.

 

The ride home in their rental car was a very silent one. Genji drove, as usual. Hanzo was back to his relatively sullen, distant appearance, but there was a certain expression on his face that belied that.

“I see you had fun,” Genji offered after about five minutes of dead silence. He debated turning on the radio to fill the gap, but Hanzo didn’t really like a lot of modern music.

His brother  _ hmm _ ed, which wasn’t a negative sound, at least.

Genji looked sideways. Hanzo looked almost reinvigorated, despite his constant insistence that Genji’s friends tired him.

Then again, the company probably didn’t count as  _ Genji’s friends _ quite yet.

His brother exhaled slowly, then spoke. “I think I’ll join the company.”

Genji’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Really?”

“Yes. If...” Hanzo hesitated. “If that’s okay with you.”

Genji let out a breath. “Are you kidding? You’re being voluntarily social for the first time in ages!” He gave his brother a sideways grin. “I’m totally okay with that.”

Hanzo snorted, but when Genji looked over again, he was smiling. Very slightly, but it was a smile.

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, then Hanzo reached over quietly and switched on the radio. Pop music began thumping through the speakers, but he made no move to change the station. Genji, surprised, turned the volume down so it wasn’t too jarring for his brother.

They didn’t talk any more for the rest of the trip, but they were both smiling now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't update for several months, sorry... writer's block. Which is to say, I have an idea for how the rest of the story goes, I just couldn't figure out a way to get it out and make it sound nice.  
> Anyways, school just started again so who knows when I'll get another chapter up, but stay tuned and I'll do my very best.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!


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